A recent case of A Caretaker versus a Supermarket (ADJ-00033611) dealt with some interesting legal points vis a vis whether reasonable cause was presented for failing to submit the unfair dismissal claim within 6 months, as well as the related issue of proportionality in determining whether the matters under review ultimately did amount to gross misconduct that reasonably justified a summary dismissal and the non-payment of notice....

Two WRC Decisions published this month make useful reading on the necessity for employees to have exhausted internal grievance procedures before resigning, in order to succeed with a constructive dismissal claim. There is also a useful summary of relevant case law in the first decision reviewed....

Lots of useful lessons in this WRC decision for employers in proper and fair disciplinary handling as well as making a reasonable and proportionate decision before deciding to dismiss. In this case poor procedures were very costly with €329,000 awarded....

The importance of always adhering to fair investigation procedures was highlighted in a recent Labour Court case that upheld the Complainant’s appeal of the quantum awarded of €2,544 made by an Adjudication Office, increasing the compensation payable to €5,000 (Ref UDD2167)....

In this recently published decision, yet again an employer fell short on how it implemented a dismissal of an employee who, had less than 5 months service, resulting in an award of €6,000 being recommended despite breaching a clause that prevented her working in any manner outside of her employment that could be prejudicial to her employer. (Ref ADJ-00028843)....

With Google recently announcing plans for a fast tracked and earlier return to the office for its employees in the US, having previously being one of the first large tech Companies to go remote last year, many other employers are also now advanced with their planning on how they are going to manage this transition back to the office, and particularly how they will deal with employees who do not want to return. A WRC decision earlier this year may be of interest (Ref ADJ-00028293)....